The present technique disclosed in this specification relates to information processing apparatuses which measure information on download of an application from an application download site using a user terminal on a network, information processing methods, information communication systems, and computer programs. In particular, the present technique relates to an information processing apparatus which performs tracking to an introduction source site which introduces an application to a user terminal, an information processing method, an information communication system, and a computer program.
In recent years, a result-reward advertisement system referred to as “affiliate” has become popular. Specifically, a link to a company site is added to a website or a mail magazine, and when a viewer who is viewing the website uses a service in the website of a link destination, that is, when the viewer purchases a product or performs member registration or the like through the link, an operator of the website of a link source gains a reward.
In addition, application download services using multifunctional terminals, such as smart phones employing Android OSs, have become popular.
To realize this system, results of advertisements should be measured. In general, assuming that a result is measured on a web browser, tracking to a link source is performed using a cookie or a URL (Uniform Resource Locator).
For example, a web browser operating in a user terminal stores information used to identify an introduction source site in a cookie of the web browser, and communicates with a server using the information stored in the cookie so as to transmit and receive information used for measurement. Furthermore, an advertisement delivery apparatus which embeds tracking information (a URL of an affiliate ID) in a link of a URL directing a viewer to a website of a seller and which performs a calculation of a result reward for affiliate using the information has been proposed (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-113884, for example). In addition, an affiliate tracking system which records a unique key associated with an advertising medium site and an advertiser as a cookie in a terminal has been proposed (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-250752, for example). Furthermore, an affiliate service provision server which records a cookie including affiliate information and advertiser information in a user terminal, redirects the cookie to a server of the advertiser, and collects the cookie from the user terminal when performance corresponding to a result of an advertisement of a product or an advertising element is completed in the website of the advertiser using the user terminal has been proposed (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-193613, for example).
However, when such a measurement method using a cookie or a URL is used, tracking of a result of an application download site may not be performed.
For example, in a case where an application introduced on a website being viewed through a web browser is to be downloaded from an application download page, a connection to an introduction source site is disconnected at a time when the download of the application from the application download page is started. Therefore, after the disconnection, result tracking is not performed. This is because, although an application download page is viewed after an application for an application download is activated in general, this application does not cooperate with the web browser. This case corresponds to a situation in which an Android terminal activates a market application and downloads an application from an Android market.
Furthermore, when a result is generated in response to a certain operation performed after an application is downloaded, the result is not measured in a link source. For example, when a result is generated after an application is activated for the first time, member registration is performed, and the member registration is completed, a link source corresponding to the result is not determined.
That is, since reliable information associated with the terminal is not obtained, a provider of the application does not recognize that the application has been downloaded through the introduction source site.
In addition, security problems also arise in an affiliate system utilizing cookies and URLs, such as risks of fake tracking IDs and inability to ensure uniqueness.
Meanwhile, an affiliate tracking system which performs affiliate tracking on a mobile terminal incorporating a contactless IC card has also been proposed (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-276932, for example). However, in this system, although tracking for obtaining information representing whether a user of a mobile terminal has visited a specific location, such as a shop, may be performed, tracking for obtaining information representing whether an application has been downloaded in the mobile terminal is not performed.